Boston University hosts ‘Sex in the Dark’ event with self-described ‘Filipina Mermaid Goddess’ as ‘pleasure guide’

Boston University Student Health Services (SHS) recently hosted its annual “Sex in the Dark” event, featuring a self-described “Filipina Mermaid Goddess.”

During the event, which took place on April 7, students asked “anonymous questions about sexual health and relationships – all in the dark.”

“The lights will be off and the room will be filled with neon glow! Get free safer sex supplies from Condom Fairy, glow-in-the-dark swag, raffle prizes, and more at the sexual health fair before the Q&A kicks off!” the event description stated. 

The event organizers featured a “Condom Fairy” offering “Free safer sex supplies,” and participants also received “glow-in-the-dark swag.” 

One panelist, Cecilia Villero, or “Goddess Cecelia,” is a “pleasure educator” who goes by the pronouns “she/her/hers/siya,” dresses in a mermaid costume, and offers “pleasure, trauma, and inclusivity consulting.” 

“We are Mer-Made for Pleasure,” the website states, and “pleasure is a right and a revolution.”

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With the help of the self-styled “Filipina Mermaid Goddess” as a “pleasure guide,” others may “embody” their “oceanic pleasures” in spite of living in “a system that has deep roots in white supremacy, colonialism, misogyny, and ableism,” as the website states. 

The website also claims that “sometimes the waters are more rough” for “folks in the LGBTQIA+ community, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, Disabled folks, and those with multiple marginalized identities.”

“Goddess Cecilia” sells merchandise on her website as well, such as a “Vulva/Body Craft Kit” that is meant to “give people the opportunity to connect with their bodies through their craft creations.” She also sells t-shirts, stickers, tote bags, as well as lubricant and sex toys. 

[RELATED: CSU Northridge hosts ‘kink across diverse bodies’ workshop featuring BDSM educator who offers services like ‘Foot Worship’]

The event was spearheaded by the SHS’s “Condom Fairy” program, which mails free contraception “in a variety of sizes, materials, and flavors” to students, reasoning that “sex should be safe, pleasurable, and shame-free.”

Good Vibrations, an “adult store,” and Hubba Hubba, a “woman-owned, sex-positive alternative store” also were affiliated with the event. 

Campus Reform has reached out to Boston University and Cecilia Villero for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.